Big Brother Steps Up
by Paige M. Carter
Summary: Roman tries to help Seth through a migraine without Dean around. Part of the 'What Brothers are For' Universe.


Disclaimer: I own nothing here, don't sue me.

Author's Note: This is probably the longest story in the 'What Brother's Do' series and it's my first attempt to write a more humorous story for this series.

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Roman could do this. He was a grown man, a father, he had a college degree, he should be able to figure this out. He winced at the soft whimper coming from the two-toned pile of misery that earlier had been his youngest brother; he could do this, he _had_ to do this.

They were in the middle of a European tour and were currently in Italy, and Vince had decided to treat the whole roster by giving them a couple of days off. Dean was off touring Rome with some of the guys and some of the Divas. Roman had been to Italy several times with his family, so there was nothing in Rome he hadn't seen before, and Seth wasn't into history or architecture. They'd encouraged Dean to go without them, knowing how much their middle brother loved history.

Now Roman was cursing himself for letting Dean go. Things had been fine when he'd left, Seth was reading one of his fantasy novels, Roman was surfing the web, then Seth started not feeling well. It had started with just a little twinge, but before Roman knew what was happening, he had a youngest brother in the throes of a full blown migraine, and Dean wasn't there to take charge. An attempt to nip the migraine in the bud with Seth's pills had ended with Seth owing Roman new sneakers because, while Roman would put up with a lot of things, wearing vomit-smelling shoes was _not_ one of them.

He briefly considered calling Dean for help, but dismissed it immediately. If he called Dean to tell him that Seth was sick, Dean would immediately want to come back, or he'd fret and worry; either of which would ruin his middle brother's well-earned fun. No, Roman couldn't call Dean, he'd have to figure this out on his own.

He sat down with the injection kit and tried to reason out how to do this. Seth was at a six and a half, so Dean would probably round it up, but he still couldn't remember how much Dean used. The last thing he needed or wanted was to accidentally give Seth too much. He looked at the needle, there were increments marked on it, but nothing that worked with their system of describing Seth's migraines, and the damn kit had no real guide.

Finally, he thought he had it worked out, and carefully filled the syringe, tapping it to make sure there were no bubbles, before making his way back to Seth.

Seth stared at him suspiciously when he saw the syringe in his hand, "Are you sure you know what you're doing?"

Roman reminded himself that Seth didn't feel well, and that he'd probably be same way if the situation was reversed, but the fact that his little brother wasn't sobbing with gratitude and kissing his feet(especially after what he'd done to Roman's sneakers) annoyed him. "I'm sure. I got it figured out."

If Seth wasn't completely convinced of Roman's medical skills before, he definitely wasn't now, "Maybe we should wait for Dean to get back. I-I'm sure I can stand it until then."

Now Roman was mad, "Oh for God's sake, Seth! I know what I'm doing! I paid attention when Dean's done this before."

"I want Dean," Seth said, stubbornly.

Yeah, well, so did Roman. "Well, Dean's not here, and he's probably not going to be back until late. So, let's just do this so you can get some sleep."

Finally, Seth capitulated and extended his arm, covering his face with his pillow, so he wouldn't have to see the needle going in. Roman inserted the needle and gently pushed down the plunger. Seth whined and whimpered, missing the comfort of Roman's arms, which usually held him during these ordeals.

"It's okay," Roman said, stroking Seth's hair like he saw Dean doing.

It wasn't, he hadn't given Seth enough, so it was dulling the pain, but not knocking him out. So Seth was awake and hurting, but it wasn't as bad as it had been before. So Roman was stuck with a slightly less miserable little brother, no sign of his middle brother, and no clue what to do next.

"Why can't we call Dean?" Seth asked around 5pm.

Roman gritted his teeth, "Just try and get some sleep." He was being unfair to Seth, but the fact that he couldn't do something as simple as help Seth with his headaches without Dean's help irked the hell out of him. Dean made it look so easy, why could he do it with ease and Roman just floundered?

Then he remembered something. His sister-in-law suffered from migraines, really bad ones. He wondered if Matt would have any suggestions for how to help Seth. It would be about noon in Ohio and the restaurant didn't open until 4pm, so Matt should be home.

He quickly dialed his brother's house number and crossed his fingers that his brother was home.

"Yo." Roman could've sang with joy at the sound of his older brother's voice. "Matt, it's Roman."

"What's up, Baby Uce? How's Italy?"

"The usual, hot and swarming with tourists. Matt, I need help."

"What's up? You get busted with a hooker?"

"God, no! It's Seth." He explained the problem and asked if Matt had any tips.

"Well, sometimes, if the migraine is easing but not quite gone, or it's a relatively mild one, I give her a massage. Start with the neck first, that's usually where it's the worst."

Roman sighed with relief. "Thanks, Matt, you're a life-saver."

"No problem. Love ya, Baby Uce."

"Love you too, Big Uce. Give my niece and nephew big hugs and kisses for me."

"Likewise. Later."

Roman hung up with a sigh of relief. He turned back to Seth. "Take your shirt off and lay on your stomach."

Seth glared at him, "Why?"

"Matt gave me an idea on how to help your headache."

Seth looked at him for a long moment before complying.

Roman sat next to him and began gently rub Seth's neck, finding plenty of knots that needed attention.

The sound Seth made was borderline orgasmic, "Tht feels s'good, Ro."

Roman smiled for the first time since Seth's migraine started, "Good. Go to sleep." In less than a minute, Seth complied, snoring blissfully. Roman sighed with relief, making a note to find some top grade ingredients or wine to ship to Matt's restaurant as a thank you.

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Dean arrived back around 11pm, tan from the Mediterranean sun, extremely cheerful, and carrying some bags.

"Sorry I'm so late, but there was a huge crowd by the Trevi Fountain, and some of the girls wanted to make wishes. Then Santino took us to his favorite restaurant, and after that Renee and I got some gelato and we walked around some more with Daniel and Brie." He set down his bags and turned to look at Roman, "So, were you guys okay? Do anything exciting?"

It was on the tip of Roman's tongue to lie and say that of course they'd been fine. It was so rare to see Dean in a genuinely good mood, that he didn't want to spoil it. Before he could say anything, Dean's nose wrinkled.

"Why do I smell puke?"

Busted. With a sigh, Roman explained about Seth's migraine and his own incompetence at administering the medication and Matt's advice.

"You should've called me, Ro, I would've walked you through it," Dean said, going over to check Seth's softly snoring form.

"I-I didn't want to bother you or make you worry," Roman admitted, sheepishly.

After Dean had assured himself that Seth was none the worse for wear, he sat down next to Roman and took the kit out. "Okay, I'm gonna walk you through it, so if this happens again, you'll be able to handle it."

They went over the dosing several times before Dean was satisfied that Roman had it down pat.

"Thanks, Dean," Roman said, as Dean began to yawn. "I'm glad you had fun today, you deserve it. Why don't you go to bed?"

Dean smiled tiredly, before padding into the bathroom to get ready for bed.

As Roman prepared to get ready for bed, he realized that Dean had unintentionally given him some very juicy information when he was going over his day. He grinned, almost wishing Seth was awake so they could tease Dean about it, but that would have to wait until tomorrow.

The End

Author's Note 2: If anyone can tell me what the juicy bit of info Dean accidentally revealed to Roman when he came back was, you get a cookie. I'm also open to requests for ideas on stuff I can do to Dean and Roman(Seth's getting a little tired of the constant migraines).

Also: Roman's brother, Matt, is a real person, as is the restaurant he owns and operates in Ohio. He wrestled for WWE in the early 2000s as Rosey from 3 Minute Warning.


End file.
